Editing a Malcolm Baldridge Application - A Novice Baldridge Editor Speaks  

This paper discusses how the audiences and the experience of the application writers affect the editing time for a Malcolm Baldrige application. The mystery for this novice Baldrige editor -- Why did IBM want one full time editor for seven months to edit 75 pages? What was the catch? Was this job a boondoggle? As it turned out, the criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige application are rigorous and examiners forbid exceptions. The criteria led to a challenging editing job when combined with the diverse background of the audience and the practice of using subject matter experts as writers rather than people who are trained as writers.

Ryan, Suzanne V. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Editing>Case Studies

An Example of Substantive Editing

Some years ago I edited a quarterly magazine for the users of a large Australian computing network. This example (from 1985) is fairly typical of the technical articles I received from department managers. I include here the unedited text and my revised version.

Hollis Weber, Jean. Technical Editors Eyrie (2001). Articles>Editing>Case Studies

Professional Editing Strategies Used by Six Editors    

Identifying the approach used by those revision experts par excellence--that is, professional editors--should enable researchers to better grasp the revision process. To further explore this hypothesis, the author conducted research among professional editors, six of whom she filmed as they engaged in their practice. An analysis of their work approach strategies showed their detection strategies to consist in anticipating errors and in comparing the author's text with the editor's knowledge, which appears in a range of states: certitude, uncertainty, and ignorance. Furthermore, the participating editors used problem-solving strategies to automatically solve more than half of the problems encountered in the text. Otherwise, they used immediate or postponed strategies. This description of professional editors in action opens a number of avenues for the further research and development of in-class instruction of self-revision and professional editing.

Bisaillon, Jocelyne. Written Communication (2007). Articles>Editing>Methods>Case Studies

How Did This Happen?

Even a newspaper like The Times, with layers of editing to ensure accuracy, can go off the rails when communication is poor, individuals do not bear down hard enough, and they make assumptions about what others have done.

Hoyt, Clark. New York Times, The (2009). Articles>Editing>Collaboration>Case Studies

Creating an Anthology on Editing

Pulling together New Perspectives on Technical Editing, an anthology on editing, was a complex, yet exhilarating experience. The process fell into four stages.

Murphy, Avon J. Corrigo (2009). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing>Case Studies